Child support : help available for the asking

Today, with so many divergent opinions on so many important issues, there is one issue I know that we can all agree upon: every parent needs to take care of their children. In its simplest form, that care needs to be both financial and emotional. All children deserve the financial support necessary to make their lives easier. That is not just an emotional judgment but also a legal one. When children have the financial support of both their parents, their living conditions are always better.

Marriages and relationships can and do end, often in a great storm of emotion. After a bitter break-up, too many parents only want to exact their revenge on their former partner. However, child support is never about revenge. It is about the children. As the only State Attorney with an office performing child support services, I know the power and importance of pursuing child support obligations. I often say that obtaining child support places your State Attorney’s Office in the life-saving business, stopping families and children from drowning in a sea of debt and despair. In these tough economic times too many children, facing greater hardships, are increasingly dependent on the dollars the Child Support Program has been able to collect for them.

Our child support program is committed to helping children receive the support they need and helping non-custodial parents who are ordered to pay support get back into compliance with their support. If you need assistance with obtaining a court order for child support; locating a parent to get or enforce a support order; legally determining the child’s paternity; getting a court order for medical support such as health insurance; enforcing medical and support orders; collecting and sending child support payments; or if you are ordered to pay support and enforcement actions are being taken against you, there are options! My child support staff is available to assist.

We are located at 601 NW 1st Court, Miami, 33136 or you may call 305-530- 2600 for information. All information is confidential by law, so only the parent can start the process or get status information on the case. Intermittently, my Community Outreach Division schedules Child Support Outreach events that can assist in the filing of a child support case. You can call 305- 547-0724 to learn the date and location of the next scheduled Child Support event.

It is important to note that when a judge sets a financial level of support, the income of both parents and the child’s needs are the basis for the amount of support obtained. There are many, many local families that depend on their child support payments to get through each month. If you believe that the State Attorney’s Office Child Support Division can assist you, please do not hesitate to contact us. Do it for your children.